How does the author use foreshadowing in The Ugly American?

In Chapter Twelve, the author talks about the French defeat at the battle of Dien Bien Phu in May 1954. The lessons of this war are learned by Monet, Wolcheck, and MacWhite, but are lost on the commanding generals and admirals. Wolcheck represents both the common man who sees things the way they really are and the ultimate soldier who has to take orders from authorities who sometimes refuse to see the way things really are. The mistakes of the French foreshadow the same mistakes the Americans make when they enter the war in Vietnam. This proves once again the adage that those who fail to learn the lessons of history are doomed to repeat them.